Home Possible Advantage, offered by Freddie Mac, and HomeReady, offered by Fannie Mae, are similar programs for homebuyers without large down payments. Here's an explanation of the program differences, and how they might matter to you.

For the second time in 10 weeks, Fannie Mae is toughening its mortgage guidelines again. Again. According to an internal Fannie Mae document, a review of the group's current "risk appetite, eligibility requirements, mortgage insurance options, and pricing" spawned changes spanning credit scoring, income requirements, loan-level pricing adjustments.

Mortgage approvals are getting more difficult. Again. After reviewing recent unemployment data and market fluctuations, plus patterns of mortgage fraud, Fannie Mae is making major mortgage guideline changes for the first time in more than 6 months. The changes are broad, impacting 15 separate areas of the mortgage approval process. The most impactful change may be Fannie Mae's new restrictions on mortgages for 2-unit properties.

Four times annually, the Federal Reserve surveys 84 banks around the country about general lending standards and banking conditions. One of the survey questions asks about current mortgage lending standards and whether it's getting harder, or easier, to get approved for a home loan. Modified from the report, we see...